The House of Representatives voted Friday to approve the $2tn emergency assistance package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) that is more than twice the size of America’s biggest economic stimulus package, President Barack Obama’s 2009 Recovery Act.
The new act is also more than twice the size of America’s biggest corporate bailout, President George W. Bush’s 2008 Wall Street rescue. After House passage President Trump immediately signed the bill into law. The legislation was previously approved by the Senate on 25 March.
Broadly speaking, the new law represents a positive step forward with much more work to be done. ICSC is already preparing for the next round of legislative and regulatory measures at the federal and state levels to help the shopping centre industry both during and after this crisis.
“While we are focused on changes that will result in short-term liquidity and regulatory flexibility from lenders, there are a host of important issues to address,” said Betsy Laird, Senior Vice President of ICSC Global Public Policy. “From business interruption to other financial matters, our industry, which is the fabric of communities across the country, needs help right away.”
The CARES Act includes the creation of loan programs and tax relief measures for businesses and individuals, as well as enhanced unemployment insurance benefits. One of the loan proposals is under the “Paycheck Protection Program” of the bill. It is designed for small businesses defined as having fewer than 500 employees. It is an enhanced loan program with the Small Business Administration and the maximum amount of the loan is the lesser between a multiple of 2.5x payroll or $10M. Under certain conditions, there are aspects of the loan that qualify for forgiveness. The deadline to apply for the small business loan program is 30 June 2020. The SBA will be moving quickly to implement this expanded program.
